River Deep — Mountain High
by Poppy Callaghan
Summary: "War is a universal language [...] It never occurred to me that one might come from above." (Nick Fury) —Part I of the All-Spark series.—


_And do I love you my oh my_

_Yeah river deep mountain high_  
_If I lost you would I cry_  
_Oh how I love you baby, baby, baby, baby_

-River Deep — Mountain High; **by Tina Turner**

* * *

"Who's she?" Dylan looked between her father and the woman curiously. Confusedly. That woman was not Dylan's mother. That woman was someone else entirely. Why was she with Dylan's father? Were they friends? They had to be, right?

Kneeling down to be at his daughter's eye-level, Dylan's father, Andre, gave her a gentle smile. "D, this is Tessa," he stated. "She. . .is my girlfriend."

Dylan felt her blood run cold. Girlfriend? That couldn't be possible, right? "But. . .what about Mama?" she exclaimed. "She's supposed to come back! We're supposed to wait for her."

The looks that swept across Andre's and Tessa's face were almost unreadable. The two adults looked at each other for a moment, as if they were communicating silently to each other. Tears were forming in Dylan's eyes, her hands clenching into fists, and her breathing becoming shallow. How could her father find someone else? Why didn't he wait? Her mother was coming back and he was giving up.

"Dylan," Tessa said, "I know this is a difficult time for you, believe me, I know. My parents divorced when I was around your age, and then they remarried and I had to adjust to new stepparents. It's never an easy adjustment."

The nine year old's brows furrowed. Adjustment? Tessa was _staying_? No, she couldn't stay. And why was she talking about stepparents? She's not thinking of marrying Dylan's father, was she?

"Sweetheart, you know your mother and I were having some problems, right?" Andre asked, gently brushing some hair out of his daughter's face. He was still kneeling in front of her, looking at her cautiously. Dylan simply nodded. "And you know how your mother went to live with your grandparents for a little while?" Again, Dylan nodded. "Well, it was decided — between your mother and I — that we would stay separated. Your mother and I believe it's better that way."

There was a long, heavy silence. Andre and Tessa kept their hesitant gazes on Dylan, unsure on what her reaction may be. Certainly being told news like that _has_ to be heartbreaking. Tessa understood what it was like to have her parents separate and divorce; she was familiar with the pain. But _God_, when it came to her boyfriend's daughter, it brought back all those old feelings and so much more. For Dylan, however, it was something else. It was like her mind and emotions went blank. She couldn't think, she couldn't feel, she couldn't comprehend anything. All she could do was look at her father and Tessa. All she could do was look at them blankly. Dylan spent so much time believing her mother would come home. She spent so much time believing her parents would work things out and everything would be normal again. But they weren't. Dylan's parents were never getting back together and things would never be normal again. Andre moved on, and who knows what Dylan's mother was doing. Maybe she moved away, no longer staying with the nine year old's grandparents.

"Dylan?" Andre asked, his voice soft. He'd gone from hesitant to worried. His daughter's lack of emotion scared him. "Are you okay? Do you have any questions?"

Without uttering a word, Dylan turned and left. She didn't want to hear another word.

**-0 0 0 0-**

_SEVEN YEARS LATER_

"Cosette, will you get out of the bathroom!" Dylan slammed her fist against the closed bathroom door. "I'm going to be late for school."

"Leave me alone!" Cosette cried.

"You little brat," Dylan exclaimed. "I'm not going to be late because of you."

The sounds of footsteps caught Dylan's attention. Easily recognizing them as her stepmother's the sixteen year old let out a huff and took a step back from the bathroom door. Tessa would take care of it, that much was certain.

"Cosette Janine Carmona, if you don't get out of that bathroom _right_ now, I will personally throw away every toy and game you own." Tessa's sharp tone had Dylan involuntarily flinch. Subconsciously, it reminded her of the fights her birth mother and Andre would have. The sharp tones and heated arguments never really left the sixteen year old's memory.

After a minute of waiting, the bathroom door opened. Cosette, rosy cheeked and pouting, stepped out, refusing to meet Tessa's or Dylan's heated glares. Nodding for the teen to go in, Tessa grabbed the six year old's forearm and practically dragged her downstairs. Letting out a huff, Dylan stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. Closing her eyes for a moment, the teen took a second to calm herself. While she loved Cosette, and appreciated all the help her stepmother did, it could be very overwhelming sometimes. Dylan could still remember how overwhelming it was finding out her parents had separated and Andre had moved on. And then her birth mother essentially abandoned her and Tessa got pregnant _so quickly_. . .It was all too much.

_Life's all about adapting and moving_ on, Dylan thought, opening her eyes. _Ma and Dad chose to separate. Ma chose to abandon us and Dad found Tessa. Everything's how it should be._

Swallowing thickly, Dylan nodded. She had to keep telling herself that. Andre was happy with Tessa. He was happy having Dylan and the younger girls. Running a hand through her hair, the teen's mind went to her youngest half-sister, Stephanie. Dylan's youngest sister was only two years old, too young to really understand _any_thing. Still, Stephanie was a happy go lucky girl, enjoying what she could no matter the circumstances.

Giving her head a sharp shake, Dylan pushed those thoughts out of her head. She was running late and she couldn't just stand around thinking about her sisters. It wouldn't do anyone any good.

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**(A/N):**

**I know this chapter is short and probably poorly written, but I'm sure some of you will find something decent in it. Other than that, if you guys want to leave constructive criticism, please do so. I'd love to know how I can improve.**

**Nothing in the Transformers universe belongs to me. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the laptop I'm typing on. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.**

**Leave a random fact if you want.**

**Peace out,**

**Poppy Callaghan**


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